"Kedamono no Kokyu!" Inosuke ran straight towards Akaza in anger, not caring about any orders El gave, "Ichi no kiba: Ugachi Nuki." Inosuke pointed both swords in front of him, intending to stab Akaza in the neck.
However, before Inosuke could land his attack, Akaza kicked Inosuke like a rag doll. Inosuke was knocked quite far, rolled several times on the ground and had difficulty standing up.
On the other hand, Tanjiro was finally able to move. Tanjiro immediately ran, picking up his sword. Then Tanjiro was about to attack Akaza. However, Tanjiro found Akaza had gone into the forest.
Apparently, at the same time Tanjiro took his sword, Akaza had already run into the forest. With incredible speed, Akaza ran away from the morning sun that was full of hope for mankind and nightmares for the devil.
No more conversations, no more challenges. There was only fear that carried his away from El, away from everything she once believed in strongly.
The sun continued to rise, and Akaza felt the heat lurking behind the horizon, confirming one thing, this battle was not over, but Akaza would rather live than die silly.
With all his remaining strength, Tanjiro threw the sword from his hand using Hinokami Kagura's move, Yōkatotsu. The attack that was supposed to be a single stab, became a sharp sun spear throw.
Shwoosh!
The sword spun, creating a trail of glowing flames, like a fire dragon streaking into the sky. The air around the sword seemed to catch fire as it flew straight towards Akaza, piercing his chest sharply.
Staab!
Akaza was startled, his running steps staggering slightly. However, it didn't take long for Akaza to readjust herself.
While running, Akaza took the time to look back, seeing Tanjiro with an angry expression.
Tanjiro shouted with pent-up rage, "Don't run you coward!"
"DON'T RUN, COWARD!" shouted Tanjiro in a hoarse voice, full of emotion. "YOU DON'T DESERVE TO CALL YOURSELF A REAL FIGHTER! YOU'RE JUST A MONSTER AFRAID OF THE SUN!"
The fleeing Akaza heard the taunt, and his chest rumbled with anger, but he had no choice but to keep running.
The rising sunlight made every second count, and although his entire body and soul was filled with rage at Tanjiro, he knew full well that he could not turn back.
"Don't run, you fool, you're losing, you can't beat Uncle Adrian!" continued Tanjiro in an increasingly sharp voice, "Uncle Adrian is winning! He's much stronger than you, and you know it!"
Tanjiro's words struck deep into Akaza's heart, shattering his sense of pride as a fighter. Though his heart was filled with rage, he couldn't resist turning around, and with what was left of his strength, he sped up, getting farther and farther away from the pursuing sunlight.
"Damn it!" Akaza gritted his teeth, his anger was indescribable, but the fear of the sunlight was much stronger.
Although his greatest desire right now was to kill Tanjiro, his body instinctively retreated, slowly moving away from the growing light.
Akaza ran, there was no other choice but to flee, anger burning inside his chest. Even though he was the strongest and unrivaled demon, sunlight remained his greatest weakness.
"It's not over yet, Tanjiro!" he growled hatefully, as if his own words carried the weight of a future threat.
With no regard for Akaza's threats, Tanjiro again shouted at the top of his lungs until his throat hurt. "We demon hunters will continue to hunt you and one day behead Kibutsuji Muzan!"
Then Tanjiro screamed, kneeling on the ground and crying out loud.
"Tanjiro, come here..." El's voice grew weaker as he called out, "Did you understand? The Hinokami Kagura move I showed you during the fight?" he asked hoarsely.
Tanjiro, who was still sobbing, shook his head slowly. "Sorry... your movements were too fast." Although tired, Tanjiro forced himself to stand up and hobbled over to where El was, his steps painful yet firm.
'I have to teach him apparently,' El thought to himself, with a cold expression, watching Tanjiro walk over.
The warm morning sunlight fell on El's body, making Akaza's hand that was still stuck on her body burned by the morning sunlight, disappeared into dust in the passing wind.
Inosuke who just got up from the ground, his body was shaking, not because of pain, but because he was saddened by Tanjiro's heart-wrenching cry.
From a distance, Zenitsu came up to the four of them with a box containing Nezuko inside.
Zenitsu, who was usually filled with fear and anxiety, stood with a trembling body when he saw Tanjiro walking towards El who was seriously injured.
Zenitsu's eyes widened, his heart filled with a grief he could not express. The battle with Akaza was over, but the price was too high. El Ira Adrian, the all-powerful Dance Pillar was on the verge of death.
"Tanjiro..." Zenitsu's voice trembled, muffled by grief. He had rarely seen his feisty friend so broken, so beaten down by reality. "I... I don't know what to say..."
Zenitsu looked down, looking at El who was injured so badly, it was impossible for a human to heal. Warm tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes.
"Why... why does someone as strong as him... have to end up like this?" Zenitsu asked hoarsely, more to himself. "He didn't deserve to die... he... he could have continued to protect us all..."
Zenitsu's hands were clenched at his sides, a sense of hopelessness and helplessness enveloping him. Underneath all his fear, Zenitsu realized what a great sacrifice El had made, a warrior who would never back down, even when death was at hand.
Zenitsu could not hold back the tears that finally fell, knowing they had just lost someone irreplaceable.
"Your uncle... he was our hero..." he whispered softly, bowing his head deeply, his heart filled with respect and sorrow.
(N/A: Here the story is that they are sad because Mc will die soon, even though MC already anticipated this event. After all, MC did it on purpose, right? Wkwkwk!)
Inosuke, who still looked furious and burned with emotion after the fierce battle against Akaza, approached Tanjiro on his knees, crying next to El who was badly injured.
Looking at Tanjiro who was sobbing sorrowfully, Inosuke felt a mixture of sadness, confusion and incomprehension, especially with his mood still full of chaos.
"Tanjiro..." Zenitsu patted the shoulder of the crying Tanjiro, trying to win him over, "And Inosuke, stop crying..." he said in a hoarse voice.
Suddenly, Inosuke gave Zenitsu a hard headbutt that knocked Zenitsu unconscious. "I'm not crying!" shouted Inosuke in a loud voice.
Inosuke looked at Tanjiro who continued to cry, his eyes burning with anger and confusion. "Why are you crying for someone who's about to die?!" he shouted, almost sounding harsh.
"He's strong, he's not someone we should cry for after death! So stop crying and let's train!" said Inosuke in a harsh voice.
Tanjiro was silent for a moment, surprised by Inosuke's words, which sounded absurd to him.
Then, Inosuke tugged on Tanjiro's body, forcing Tanjiro to stop crying, and indirectly saying the fact that their feelings for El could not change the situation.
"Your tears and feelings won't bring him back to life!" Inosuke continued, still in a harsh but confident tone. "You need to keep fighting! Not cry! Don't let his death make you weak. Fight for him and let's train! Otherwise you'll just waste time!"
Though the words felt harsh, Inosuke was actually trying to be encouraging, though his delivery was very different from Tanjiro.
Behind Inosuke's need to appear tough and undaunted, there was a deep, deep sadness hidden within him.
With his emotions in turmoil, Inosuke walked over to Zenitsu who had fallen unconscious. After that, his tears flowed profusely from the corners of his masked eyes. While crying, Inosuke beat the unconscious Zenitsu.
El let out a long, slow but heavy breath, before raising his voice in a cold, sharp tone. "What the hell are you guys... Seriously? I'm not going to die."
"Why are you reacting as if I'm on the verge of death? Do you want me to die, huh?" said El in a tone that although cold, exuded unstoppable irritation.
"Ugh... my wound," El muttered coldly, her voice beginning to bear the pain. His body trembled for a moment, unable to fully contain the effects of his earlier anger that made his blood pressure spike.
Instantly, the cold composure that had been controlling him seemed to falter, but he still tried to maintain control with the remnants of composure that remained.